Korean ECAs sued to stop deep-sea oil pipeline

(BBC, London, 23 March 2022) Tiwi Islands and Larrakia Traditional Owners in Australia’s Northern Territory and youth activists in South Korea have taken the South Korean government to court to stop it from financing Santos and SK E&S’ offshore deep sea Barossa gas project. The legal challenge could prevent the South Korean Government from lending some $AU964 million (US$722m) to the $4.7 billion Barossa gas project via its export credit agencies, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE), putting the financial viability of the entire project at risk. The Traditional Owners argue they have not been consulted about the project - which threatens their sea country and way of life - and therefore have not been given the opportunity to give their free, prior and informed consent for it to proceed. Plans for the gas project include a 300km-long pipeline to be built through their sea country, an area under their legal jurisdiction. Traditional Owners fear impacts to cultural sites, turtles and other marine life that are central to their culture and the local ecotourism industry. Energy giant Santos is pushing ahead with development for the major new gas field off the coast of Darwin, in what it says is the biggest investment in Australia's oil and gas industry in almost a decade.